1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to guides for drilling into a patient's jawbone for insertion of a dental implant. More particularly, the invention comprises a unique guide which allows for minor corrections in the angle and location of entry which are not typically possible with currently available guides.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In dentistry, it is often necessary to implant prosthetic devices, such as artificial teeth. This procedure requires the implantation of an anchor into the jaw, and then the attachment of the prosthetic to the anchor. Typically, the anchor is implanted by drilling into the jaw bone and screwing, or otherwise attaching the anchor into the bone. Proper alignment of the implanted anchor is necessary to ensure that the prosthetic aligns properly with the patient's natural teeth. One method of ensuring proper alignment of the anchor is by making an impression of the patient's mouth structure, fitting a drilling guide to the impression and creating a mold around the guide such that the mold may later be fitted to the patient's natural teeth. The primary drawback to this method lies in the existing art of the guides, in that only a single channel is provided for directing the drill. If the angle of that channel is off, even slightly, a good bone contact may not be possible. In this case, a new guide must be fitted, generally requiring a delay of the procedure, perhaps for several days. The present invention overcomes this problem by providing a plurality of channels so the angle may be altered should the need arise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,207, issued to Morris D. Cesarone on Dec. 22, 1998, presents a FREELY SEPARABLE SURGICAL DRILL GUIDE AND PLATE, in which a drill guide is mounted a the tip of a manipulable forceps type tool. Unlike the present invention, alignment depends on the immediate judgement and steadiness of hand of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,692, issued to Israel Abrahami on Nov. 10, 1998, presents a DRILL GUIDE having a locating pin which must be inserted into a hole drilled into a patients mandible and an adjustable guide block for guiding the drill. By contrast, the present invention requires no drilling into the mandible to secure the device and provides specifically aligned drilling paths.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,866, issued to Bernare Weissman on December 1981, presents an ADJUSTABLE DENTAL DRILL GUIDE wherein a drill guide is secured in a hole drilled into an adjacent tooth. By contrast, the present invention requires no drilling of healthy teeth for securing the guide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,874, issued to Richard C. Roman on Sep. 6, 1977, presents a DENTAL DRILL GUIDE ATTACHMENT attachable directly to the dental drill. The guide of Roman is manually held in place on the work surface (tooth or mandible), while the guide of the present invention, is formed to a mold of the work surface and then transferred to the work surface in a secure manner, thereby allowing more precise drilling.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.